Curiosity and Nightmares
by Shadako
Summary: Jack could still remember the shudder that ran down his spine when he first met him in his lair. Back then he thought it was nothing but fear; but when they met again in Antarctica and the strange sensation returned once the Nightmare King got close to him-… Something was definitely wrong with his head. [BlackIce]
1. First Chapter: A white town of Burgess

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

_Rating: M (T for now) _

_Pairing: BlackIce _

_By: Shadako _

**First Chapter: A white town of Burgess**

Ice cold wind howled trough the streets of the quiet town of Burgess, successfully chasing every human being inside his or her house. It was late November and the townspeople had adjusted just fine to the biting temperatures, but this night seemed especially harsh. Most of them settled for a cosy evening in front of their TV screens; others just went to sleep early; and no child was allowed to go out this late. This left a certain winter spirit alone and rather bored. What was the point in visiting his favourite town when no one was out to play with? Getting a bit frustrated with the fact that he would have to wait the whole night for some entertainment, the spirit decided to pay a visit to his long time friend Jamie. Of course the boy had long since grown up; he was sixteen or seventeen by now; but that didn't change the fact that he still believed in the guardians. Floating on a snowy breeze the white haired sprite searched the houses for the familiar window. It didn't take long to make out the right building, peering inside the first window that came into view. It belonged to Sophie; Jamie's little sister. The blonde girl was sprawled out on her bed, peacefully asleep. Jack couldn't hide the smile that played across his lips when he heard her very un-ladylike snoring. She had grown up as well; becoming somewhat of a rebellious teen. The girl stopped believing in fairytales and Santa Clause sometime last year, but the winter spirit still had a soft spot for her; Sophie being one of his very first believers. Of course that didn't stop him from playing a little prank on her now and then.

But she wasn't the reason he was here, now was she? A soft golden glow from the next window signalled that Jamie was still awake. Good, so maybe Jack would actually get some fun out of this night. Planning to freeze the boy's window and create a roaring ice - dragon to give him a good scare, the spirit leapt to the next windowsill. He chuckled as he imagined the scolding look the Tooth fairy would give him at this. But nobody said you couldn't pull a prank on a human now and then once you're a guardian, now did they? It was all just fun and games, of course.

Staff in hand and ready to cause some trouble for his unsuspecting friend, the spirit glanced inside Jamie's room. But his joy was short – lived. With a slightly annoyed groan he caught sight of not one, but two teenagers inside. So Jamie didn't have time for him either? Oh, come on; he was the spirit of winter and surely more important than some random girl! Sourly crossing his arms Jack seated himself on the windowsill; willing to wait till the friend Jamie had over would leave. But after a few minutes of watching he came to the conclusion that the brunette girl had no intention of leaving whatsoever. And she certainly was more than just Jamie's friend, judging from the way she pressed her lips to his. If the winter sprite would have been able to blush, he would be the darkest shade of red by now. _This _was not the reason he was here; at all. Couldn't they at least turn off the light or close the stupid curtains? Honestly.

Things inside the room were heating up pretty quick and Jack did _not _want to watch; so after the girl's shirt hit the ground, he was off. What was _wrong _with everybody lately? Was this stupid romance – stuff the only thing on peoples mind? Honestly, there is more to live than making out! It annoyed the winter spirit to no end. Somehow all of the kids who believed in him after their last big fight with the Bogeyman decided, that getting a girl- or boyfriend was more important than spending time outside to play in the snow. Sure, there were new kids who believed in him, but still! What was so damn great about this cheesy romantic _crap_?! Jack never really bothered with it back when he was just some stray spirit, staying away from people and their private lives mostly. But now he was a guardian, he had people believing in him; so he naturally spent more time with them. Everything was great for a while, with the kids and all that. But nowadays when he felt like visiting one of his friends to play, they were already busy _playing _with someone else. Honestly, it made the frost sprite angrier than it should.

With the last bit of good mood and hope for some fun - time down the drain, he could just as well create a nice little blizzard. He stood on top of the school buildings roof as he watched the chaotic snowstorm unfold; nothing too bad, just something to blow off some steam. Yes, that was very childish of him; yes, it was not called for at all; and no, it didn't have _anything _to do with the fact that he was mad that everybody he knew seemed to have _someone. _Everybody but him, of course.

Now even Jamie; who was 300 years younger than him; had more experience than the winter spirit. That wasn't fair at all! Sure, Jack had died at a quite young age, probably not older than Jamie was now, but still. It was just unfair, and he hated the fact that he couldn't do much about it. The teenage spirit spent the rest of the night sitting on his roof watching the city grow white beneath a layer of snow. Served them right, now they had something else to worry about other than getting laid; namely getting out of their houses in the morning somehow. But as much as he whished it would, it didn't make him feel better at all.

Idly toying with his staff beneath the icy clutches of the wind, it took a while until Jack noticed something small buzzing next to his ear. The annoying sound pulled him out of his bitter thoughts and he turned to face its source. Baby tooth was happily chirping next to him, a bit ruffled by the harsh wind. A grin tugged at his lips once he reached a hand out to her small form. "What's up, little one?" He hadn't seen her in quite a while; since they all had met up to celebrate last Easter. What could she want now? Her loud and high pitched squeaking was a riddle to Jack, but once she started to pull on his Hoodie he knew she wanted him to follow. With nothing better to do than to watch his bad – mood – induced snowstorm, the spirit took off after her; leaving behind a very white town of Burgess.

The chaotic workshop hadn't changed since the last time he visited. Elves were doing more harm than good with their work, annoyed Yetis tried to keep them in line and get their own work done. The bulky North walked between them, shouting orders in his Russian accent now and then. Everything was horribly hectic, with Christmas coming next month. Jack didn't get why Santa wanted them around at all; but what did it matter. He always loved to sneak around between the tons of toys and inventions; everything colourful and interesting. Today it didn't do much to lift his sour mood, but it definitely was a good start.

He only arrived here a couple of minutes ago, and apparently so had Sandy. The golden glowing spirit currently sat on a big plush couch, animatedly symboling stuff above his head to an elf which was shocking itself with colourful Christmas decoration. Baby tooth had left Jacks side as soon as they approached the north - pole; probably going back to escort her queen. So for now he was left with Sandy to wait for the others to arrive; still no idea why he was even here. Asking the sandman wouldn't result in any useful information anyway; and watching him and the elves was more fun. So the winter spirit kept to himself until BunnyMund, Tooth, some of her faeries and North decided to join them. Once the large man was seated, he offered cookies to Tooth and Sandy, being his usual jolly self. They started talking about this and that, nothing really important to Jack, so he zoned out. Santa had probably just invited them all over to chat and what not; unusual, but why not. The white haired spirit didn't really care; to busy with his own thoughts.

He honestly couldn't get over the fact that Jamie had a lover and he didn't. Not even someone close to it. But then again, it wasn't as if he could just go and find one; that's much more complicated if you happen to be a spirit. Most mortals couldn't even see him, and as a guardian it wasn't exactly suitable to flirt around with humans. Leave alone the fact that they would die quite fast, given their mortality. So that was out of the question. What's left, then? Other immortal beings; but Jack wasn't prone to being the over social type, so he barely knew any. And even less he actually liked. Those were namely the other guardians; he let his gaze wander trough the room.

There was Tooth, friendly and nice and all, but her teeth – fetish was creepy, to be honest. And she had a lot of feathers; not that it was bad to have them or anything; it just wasn't Jacks type. The next who came into view was Bunny. Na, the Pookha was more like a mean big brother or something. Just like North was a father figure in the frost sprites eyes; not a person you would get attracted to. That left Sandy, but honestly? Dating the sandman doesn't sound that appealing, either. Plus, Jack highly doubted the happy little guy would be interested in anything but dream sand.

Sighing, he turned his attention to the crackling fireplace somewhere on the other side of the room. The guardians were his family and they would never be anything else; so the white haired teen came to the sad conclusion that he was running out of options. Was he really supposed to spend the rest of eternity alone? It wasn't that bad the first 300 years, sure, but now it was a different story. With growing frustration he glared at the fire, silently cursing his inability to think of anybody else. Honestly, why was it so hard to think of another immortal who wasn't part of the guardians?

"What about Pitch?" Jack's process of thought came to an abrupt halt and he stared wide – eyed at Bunny. Did the rabbit somehow acquire the ability to read his mind? North answered, oblivious to the startled winter spirit. "No, no, it can't be him! He's gone, remember?" He gave the Pookha a knowing look. The rabbit just shrugged. "Didn't stop him from coming back the last time." The Tooth fairy shuddered at the mention of the Bogeyman, clutching one of her little fairy's to her chest. Obviously the conversation had turned serious at some point, but Jack couldn't tell since he was busy daydreaming. His gaze wandered between the Easter bunny and Santa, both now arguing if it was possible for the Nightmare King to be back so soon or not. Sandy tried to get himself noticed, pointing at the signs above his head; Tooth just observed the banter between the two other guardians with worry.

"Uhm, guys? What makes you think he returned?" All eyes were suddenly on the guardian of fun, much to Jacks dismay. He should at least _try _to listen in future meetings. Bunny was the first to answer, shaking his head. "Didn't you listen, Frostbite? The nightmares!" Jack could only raise an eyebrow. Nightmares weren't unusual. There would always be a certain amount of them around, no matter what. Humans needed nightmares and fear, to a degree, to prevent them from doing stupid things. As long as the darkness wasn't overpowering the light and the good sides of life, everything was alright, wasn't it? Apparently not, since the rabbit gave Jack a disapproving look.

"Sandy just told us about his latest encounter with one of them." Now it was the kind voice of Toothiana explaining. "He said that he couldn't get rid of it, no matter what he tried. He couldn't turn it either, since it wasn't made of sand this time." Now that was new and it certainly perked Jack's interest. "What was it made of, then?"

The four guardian's attention focused back on the smallest one; Sandy already forming shapes at record speed. No one but Tooth seemed to be able to follow, so she translated for them. "He's saying it was pure shadow, or darkness. And no matter how often he tried to, he couldn't make it shatter or go away." By now North and Bunny were alarmed; whatever that had been, it couldn't be good. "So, how did you get rid of it?" The impatient Easter bunny inquired. "It went away once he finished with his work. It wasn't doing much, just watching him." The fairy shuddered at the idea of one of those things following her around. Not pleasant at all.

"So, basically you're saying Pitch somehow managed to create even_ more annoying_ nightmares?" BunnyMund wasn't happy, you could tell that much from the look on his face. The sandman just nodded eagerly, waving his little arms. Tooth gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. The first to speak was North; the bulky man stood from his seat. "Now, now; no need to worry! He didn't do anything jet, and we just saw _one_ of those creatures. No big trouble." The rabbit stomped his large paw in disagreement. "If it's Pitch, it's always trouble! And how do we know he doesn't have an army of those things already?" Santa seemed to think this over for a moment, than nodded. "You're right; we need to make sure he's not up to something." Tooth and Sandy nodded eagerly, Jack just shrugged. "We need to go check on him!" Bunny was determined to do something before the Bogeyman could even think up a new plan to plunge the world into darkness. "Bunny's right! Let's go!" There was an unnatural high pitch to Tooth's voice. The fairy's wings buzzed at high speed; showing how nervous she was. "_Niet_! We need to plan this trough, no rushed decisions this time." The bulky Russians words sounded final and no one protested; of course the rabbit gave him an annoyed look; but he kept his mouth shut as well.

Until now Jack had watched in silence, not thrilled at the idea of even more powerful nightmares at all. The last ones were enough trouble already. Why couldn't Pitch just stay down in his dark lair and leave them be? Santa instructed the guardians to stay around for a while, until it was clear what the Bogeyman was planning. He sure was afraid of a ruined Christmas; but who could blame him? After the disaster with Easter. Bunny agreed to stick around the north - pole for now; Sandy and Tooth; having a lot of work and all; will drop by now and then to see how North's plan is coming. Since Jack didn't have anything better to do anyways, he agreed to stay as well; the noisy and chaotic workshop a good distraction to his none – too – happy thoughts lately.

So a lot of bickering with Bunny, some elv – made cookies and a short chat with Tooth later, the winter spirit found himself alone in one of Santa's guestrooms. It was dimly lit by some Christmas lights, the red curtains drawn shut. Jack mustered the strange pattern of bells and reindeers on them with a bit of distaste. Nothing against Christmas, but this looked just ridiculous.

With a sigh he sat down on the soft mattress of the neatly made bed. Having a room was a nice change to his usual hanging – out – in – trees, he had to admit. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, he regretted his decision to stay. Why? Easy; he was alone here once everybody was busy with Christmas – preparations again. And worse than being alone; being alone inside a quiet, dark room with no distraction whatsoever. No wind to ride, no snowstorm to create; not even a night sky to watch. So he was left to his thoughts once again; and thinking was his least favourite thing at the moment. It only resulted in him thinking of things he did_ not_ _want_ to think about. Things like what Bunny had said.

Not that it had any relation to Jack's unspoken questions from earlier, but it still gave him _ideas_. Ideas he _highly _despised. Like, actually _considering _the possibility of him together with- "I am _not _having this thought process; at all." With that said he pressed the fluffy pillow into his face; to stop his mind from having more retarded ideas. Needles to say that is didn't work all that well. Honestly, what was wrong with him? Why wasn't he as disgusted and repulsed as he should be? Pitch was evil, for the sake of it! The only thing he was good for was making children miserable and sad! He was the reason Sandy almost died! Jack hated him with all the passion he could muster; so why for the love of _everything _wasn't he just laughing at the stupid though of _him _together with the Bogeyman?! This had to be his mind's weird idea of a joke.

Yeah, maybe Pitch is immortal, just like him; he's not part of the guardians, either. And Jack could still remember the shudder that ran down his spine when he first met him in his lair. Back then he thought it was nothing but fear; but when they met again in Antarctica and the strange sensation returned once the Nightmare King got close to him-… Something was definitely wrong with his head. He needed to sleep; fast. And whatever the reason for his mind to be this screwed up today; he really hoped it would be gone tomorrow. But knowing his luck; most likely not.

~~~tbc.

_I recently watched the movie and it was so damn amazing! Sure,_

_would have been better if Pitch would have won, but it's a movie for kids,_

_so I guess it was alright that way __ Anyways, I just had to write a FF for it! _

_BlackIce, of course. But if you're hoping for some hardcore action in the next chapter out of the blue, I suggest you leave now, because that's not gonna happen. Also, I'm not a fan of NonCon, so nothing of that in this story either. __**[WHAT? No Yaoi in the first chapter and NO brutal rape either?! What kind of story is this? MY kind of story, so deal with it or leave. :D] **_

_If you wondered why my English sucks so much, it's not my first language and I'm still getting used to writing longer storys in English. So feel free to flame me for misspellings and wrong time forms! _

_Shad~ _


	2. Second Chapter: The advice of the moon

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

_Rating: M (T for now) _

_Pairing: BlackIce _

_By: Shadako _

**Second Chapter: The advice of the moon.**

A soft noise echoed off the walls of a dimly lit room somewhere in Santa's workshop. The few elves who noticed the strange blanked of shadow slithering over the floor seconds later were either to stupid to comprehend what it was, or simply dismissed it as a shadow; nothing more. It _was _just a shadow, basically. But once it successfully crept inside a guestroom beneath the door, it changed form to something else entirely. The shallow breath of the nightmare ghosted over the red fabric of the curtains as it neared the bed; a peacefully sleeping and unaware Jack Frost right beside it. Snorting softly the creature observed the dancing images of dream sand above the sprites head; a golden silhouette of a boy; riding the wind undisturbed and carefree. The shadowy horse watched, mildly interested in the spirits childish dreams. It was pure circumstance that it happened to pass by the North Pole; searching for the sandman. Its master's orders were to keep track of the annoying little guardian so he wouldn't get in the way once again. But he wasn't here anymore, obviously; so why not stick around for a bit and foil some dreams?

Just as the shadow craned its neck to reach out and taint the golden sand black the dream changed on own accord. That was new to the nightmare; dreams changing without its venomous touch. Curiosity got the better of the creature and it referred from turning the dream dark just jet. The scene had changed to a landscape; some lake and a forest. The spirit boy was still there, but he wasn't alone anymore. The mare's eyes widened slightly as it recognized the second figure as that of its master. Why would this boy be dreaming about the King of Nightmares? In a pleasant dream no less? That made no sense in the shadows eyes; but it was a patient creature, so why not stick around to find out.

Slender fingers of the dream – Pitch reached out to caress the boy's cheek, drawing him in for a sweet display of affection. As the lips of the golden pair met, the real frost spirit's fingers gripped the sheets a bit tighter. The mare however wasn't pleased at all; that was its master; the _herald of fear and terror_! _Not_ the stuff _that_ kind of dreams were made of. Not to mention the fact that the shadows were quite possessive of their king and his rare affectionate touches. They were reserved for the dark creatures only; not for some stray winter sprite! The calmness of the glowing eyes melted and the nightmare went rearing; ready to show the spirit just how_ real_ bad dreams could become.

Just a second before the thundering hooves hit home did Jack stir. His peaceful slumber disturbed by a feral whining and snorting. Opening his eyes he instantly regretted his decision; this wasn't the thing you would want to see first in the morning. With a startled shout he scrambled backwards on the bed, just in time to avoid being crushed by the horse. The furious mare stomped down on the lower half of the bed, cracking the wood of North's furniture as it missed its target. **_"What the hell-?!"_**

It was beyond Jack how he always got himself into this kind of situations, really. He just went to sleep, not thinking anything bad; then he wakes up again and a nightmare – horse is trying to _kill _him. Something, somewhere in this big universe must really hate him.

The raging creature fixed its blazing eyes on the shocked Frost spirit; growling low. Realizing that now would be the time to run, Jack launched forward once the mare attacked again. Ungracefully tumbling over the covers he reached for the door, but the nightmare was faster. "Oh, no, no… come on; you don't really _want _to kill me, do you?" Hands raised in surrender Jack's eyes scan the room quickly for his staff. But the frost spirits weapon was out of reach; next to the crushed bed and behind the furious horse. The adrenaline spiked in Jacks blood; and so did the fear. But he would be damned to let it show. The horse however seemed to get even more agitated by the second; so his plan clearly wasn't working. "Right; you guys can _sense _fear or something." Backing of farther towards the nearest wall he still held his hands up in hopes of calming the raging creature. "Now if that isn't just the _perfect _way to start a new day; _getting_ _trampled by shadows." _The words were murmured more to himself than to the nightmare. While the mare got ready for its next attack, Jack braced himself for the impact of hooves.

Luck however seemed to be on his side for once; right before the creature could strike once more the door slammed open. "What's with all the noise, _Frostbite_?!" A very pissed off Bunny glared at Jack; realizing quickly that they were not the only ones in the room.

"_Whoa."_ The mare whined angrily; willing to take on both guardians. But the Easter Bunny was faster, smacking the nightmare's jaw with one of his boomerangs. Instead of crumbling like it should, the horse just backed off a little.

"About time you show up, _kangaroo_!" The rabbit just rolled his eyes at Jack's insult, keeping his attention on the shadow. "What's _that thing_ doing here?" The furry guardian approached the creature with drawn weapons; successfully chasing it backwards. The frost spirit just shrugged. "No idea. I sure as hell didn't invite it over." With the nightmare out of the way Jack reached for his staff, pointing it at the attacker. The shadow seemed to consider his options for a moment; coming to the conclusion that it wasn't not worth it. So with flaring eyes and a low growl the horse bolted for the window; dissolving into mist and slipping out into the night trough the cracks in the wood. Leaving behind a very startled Jack Frost and a bewildered BunnyMund. Shaking his head the rabbit turned to face the other spirit.

"Seriously, Frostbite. How do you always manage to get yourself into trouble?"

"I'd like to know myself. Honestly, what was _that_?!" Jack gestured towards the now empty room and the broken bed. Sheathing his weapons the taller guardian just shrugged. "A nightmare, I guess." This time it was Jack's turn to roll his eyes at the stupid answer. He had this much figured out himself, honestly.

"And _why_ is a nightmare in my room trying to _kill _me?" Bunny doesn't seem to have a good explanation for that one either. "No idea, mate. Did you do anything? See anything strange or something?" Jack considered the rabbit's words for a moment before shaking his head. "Nothing; I was peacefully asleep and the next moment that _thing_ is all over me." Rubbing his chin the Phooka took a closer look at the window; making sure the offending thing was gone for good.

"Well, did ya dream anything weird?" A more than uncomfortable feeling washed over Jack; the spirit suddenly glad that Bunny wasn't looking at him. That made it much easier to lie. Fumbling with his staff he took a seat on the edge of his destroyed bed; looking anywhere but at the Easter Rabbit. "No; nothing special, really." Once the guardian of hope was certain the nightmare left, he faced Jack again.

"Strange. But it sure confirms our theory about Pitch. He is back; and he's sending his minions after us." The Phooka glared back at the window; still on edge. While the rabbit was clearly unsettled by the latest turn of events, Jack couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. Not that he would ever tell anybody; but he did feel kinda bad for the Shadowmancer after his defeat. But that didn't change the fact that he hated Pitch wholeheartedly, of course.

"So, what do we do now?" Jack was glad that his voice didn't betray his thoughts about the Bogeyman. The older guardian turned to leave the room. "You heard the old man; _no rushed decisions_. I'll go and tell North about your little visitor; you just stay out of trouble, Frostbite." Not half a minute later was Jack alone again. Slightly annoyed with Bunny for treating him like some kid and even more annoyed with Pitch for this ridiculous assault. What was that about anyways?! Since when was it Pitch's style to get people stomped to death by a horse while they were sleeping, honestly? Jack shook his head in bewilderment; taking one last look at the remnants of his bed. He was quick to decide that he needed a bit of fresh air.

The chilly wind and the slowly falling snow sure helped to calm his nerves. Perched on one of the many roofs of North's Workshop Jack quietly observed the white landscape. No more nightmares; no army of shadows approaching, and most importantly; no Pitch. So if he didn't want to attack the guardians and take them out for good; then why send this creature to attack_ him_? And that after such a short period of time after his defeat. Was the King of Nightmares really back for good already? That couldn't be; he must be still recovering. But why would he risk having his return known by the guardians if he hadn't a sinister master plan at hand to destroy them?

Jack couldn't think of any good reasons. Was the King of Nightmares _only _after him now? The thought made the spirit shiver; but not in an unpleasant way. An annoyed groan worked its way trough his throat. _"Oh, come on, hormones, shut up!"_ Burying his head in his arms Jack tried to shove those ridiculous feelings aside. The only reason he was having them in the first place were his own stupid thoughts. He shouldn't bother with unimportant things like his own loneliness; he was a guardian now. The children were important; not some spirits feelings!

It wasn't as If he actually _liked _Pitch anyways; not at all. He was just a bit… confused; that's all. But then again, why did he have this strange dream? It hadn't felt like a nightmare to tell the truth; but it _had _to be one. He would never dream anything like this on his own. _Ever. _

So in the end it was all Pitch's fault; wasn't it? His return was the reason Bunny even mentioned the name; he sent the nightmare to Jack; he was the sole reason for all of the spirit's problems. Or that's what Jack told himself at least. It certainly was easier to blame the Nightmare King than to sort out his own feelings. Feelings he did _not_ want to have in the first place. "…when, exactly, did things start to get so complicated?" The question wasn't directed to anyone in particular; but something still answered his distressed voice.

The wind combed trough snow white hair as if wanting to ease the winter spirits troubled thoughts away. It always had been a trusty companion to Jack; but this time not even his oldest friend could help him.

Sighing he looked up towards the moon; which was beaming down on him in its full glory. The sun hadn't had a chance to rise jet, still swallowed by the endless darkness of the pole nights. The guardian of fun pulled his hood up and glared up towards the starlit sky. "So, this is your newest plan to make me miserable or something?" It had been quite a while since he last tried to talk to the man in the moon. Waiting he twirled his staff between his hands; creating beautiful patterns of Frost. Silence was the only thing that followed.

Not that he had expected an answer; but it still put him off to be ignored once again. "Alright, I get it. The boy got enough problems already, so why not add to the pile!" Grumbling to himself Jack leaned on his staff; still glaring daggers at the silent moon.

"What do you expect me to do, hm? Be alone for the rest of _forever _and just deal with it?!" It somehow occurred to him that he must look pretty stupid to any possible witnesses; standing on a roof shouting at the moon. But then again; how high was the chance for anyone to see him up there, anyways? Blue eyes fixed on the shining moonlight; dancing above the icy cliffs around them.

This time Jack actually got an answer; but none he would have liked. The beam of silvery light hit the snowy roof in front of him; forming the silhouette of none other than the King of Nightmares. What the hell?! Jack was fuming by now; stomping his staff into the snow. "So _this_ is your idea of a joke?" The shape in the beam of light vanished but the shine remained; clearly signalling that MiM was done with his answer. So the moon also wanted to make fun of him? Seriously, how much _better_ could this day become? An annoyed sigh left Jack's lips as he stared up at the leader of the guardians once again.

"Great; so either I'm alone for the _rest of_ _ever; _or get myself _killed_ by Pitch when I ask him out?" The silvery light shifted and flickered a couple of times; whatever that was supposed to mean. How difficult could it be for such a powerful being to just get a simple message across, damn it? The anger and frustration inside the winter spirit spiked ten fold when no useful response came after that.

"**_Lovely_**. Any other _amazing _possible options?" The sarcasm was lost to MiM, or he just decided to ignore it. Jack guessed the later. This time the silver shimmer formed a different shadow; that of Sandy. Jack raised a brow; his expression darkening even more; annoyance clearly written on his features. What. The. Hell.

"So, you're telling me to date the _Bogeyman_, the _Sandman,_ or be a lonely virgin?" The spirits voice dripped with venom; and if it would have been physically possible he would have blasted MiM minutes ago. Jacks grip on his staff tightened even more; the wood creaking in disapproval. The dancing shadows in the moonlight beam now formed a single word in response. **_Basically._**

For a moment Jack just stood there on top of Santa's roof; staring down at that one word. So he _was_ able to communicate that way?! Then why bother with stupid sign language all the time? Why make his damn answers cryptic and strange and _annoying?! _Honestly, he just wanted to go back to sleep in some tree and forget that the last 24 hours ever happened.

Shaking his head Jack whipped his staff trough the snow; making the message of the moon disappear. He looked up one last time; eyes furious beneath his hood. "I hate you, you know?" And if he didn't know better he could have sworn the moon was laughing at him. For a moment he thought about calling MiM a few quite nasty things he had picked up from some humans, but decided against it. It would only result in him getting even more frustrated at the happily beaming moon.

Fuming he turned and left the roof; ready to go inside and take some of his pent up frustration out on Bunny; the elves or anything that was within arms reach. What the _hell _was MiM thinking?! He had a really, _really _twisted sense of humour, that much was obvious. Why did the spirit volunteer to work for that guy again? He honestly couldn't remember at the moment.

Once inside of the giant glowing building, Jack was met with none other than BunnyMund for the second time that day. But before he could even open his mouth for a witty comment; the rabbit was already talking. "Here you are, Frostbite! Listen up; North decided that I should go and inform Sandy and Tooth. Warn them, in case Pitch tries to strike again." A very grumpy Jack just nodded; leaning on his staff. "-and you will try to find an entrance to his lair while I'm gone. We need to gather information on what he's planning."

Jack's mouth dropped open at that; he was supposed to go and _search _for the Bogeyman? After this whole screwed up nights- and mornings events? No way. He was about to protest when Bunny had already opened one of his tunnels and was gone.

Staring dumbly at the now empty floor in front of him Jack couldn't help but wonder if everybody was against him today. Actually, he was pretty sure of it.

A stupid giggle next to the brooding spirit alerted him of the presence of a few unfortunate elves. Said elves were frozen solid a tad bit later and Jack was off.

Riding the wind at least did something to ease his bad mood away for a bit; and it helped him to just stop _thinking _so much. He might as well go and find an entrance to the dark realm; maybe he could get some answers out of Pitch as well. Namely; why he sent the stupid mare out to trample him in his sleep. The other things about MiM and his questionable advices he would keep to himself for now. Maybe he could talk to Santa later and ask him about any possible mental illnesses of the moon and any possible solutions to successfully prevent himself from dreaming about Pitch. Or a therapist for spirits; whatever would suffice.

~~~tbc.

I just love the thought of MiM teasing Jack. So much fun

Anyway, here is the second chapter; prepare for some more

stupidity and randomness in the next one. And finally some

BlackIce. (Some. Not much. Sorry.)

Shad~


	3. Third Chapter: What lurks in the shadows

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

_Rating: M (T for now) _

_Pairing: BlackIce _

_By: Shadako _

**Third Chapter: What lurks in the shadows.**

The nervous stomping of hooves on cold stone echoed trough the caverns, making the discomfort of the lonely nightmare pretty obvious. The mare stood her ground under the scolding gaze of her master, head held low. All the other shadows kept a safe distance; none of them wanting to side with the poor creature. She knew that she had messed up; big time. The order was simple; keep track of the sandman and don't let him notice you. Not only had the mare been seen by the stupid golden spirit; he tried to chase her away no less; she had as well attacked another guardian in a fit of rage. So much for that simple order not to get noticed. Her master took a step towards her; raising a pale hand to eyelevel with the nightmare.

But instead of banishment back into darkness and none – existence, the mare received a pet on its black muzzle. Bewildered the creature stepped back once the Shadowmancer had let go of her. The other shadows and nightmares took this as a sign to come closer; their master obviously in a good mood. "Well; that didn't go as planned." Pitch's voice lacked venom and malice; so the mare figured she was off the hook for now. Snorting softly she followed her master over to the dark globe; standing beside the Nightmare King. Other creatures were rising from the shadows of the lair and followed suit; circling around Pitch. None of them was made of sand this time.

"The guardians would have noticed sooner or later anyways." He absently traced the edges of the rusty metal the globe was made of; observing the dark wisps of mist trailing around it. They had grown; spreading almost above the whole surface by now. And it looked like they were quite eager to swallow the glowing lights beneath. A sinister smirk appeared on the dark spirits features.

"Just let them know of my return, it doesn't matter." Pitch withdrew his hand from the mist just as it started to envelop his fingers. Hungrily clawing at anything it could reach to consume. The Nightmare King placed his hand back on his trusty mare's muzzle; fingers tracing the now solid shadows. "It's not like _I'm_ the one they should worry about right now." They would figure out in how much trouble they were soon enough. The mare next to him gave a soft whine in agreement. Silence engulfed the dark cave afterwards, leaving Pitch to his thoughts. His gaze locked on the dancing shades of mist around the globe.

Frustrated and pretty much bored to death a certain frost spirit scanned the landscape beneath; riding the stormy winter wind. It was the third time he flew over the woods around Burgess by now and nothing; no secret entrance reopened; no dark hole in the ground. The thick blanked of snow really didn't help his search, but then again he could only blame himself for that. Why exactly did he decide to create the stupid storm again? It was beyond him, really. Next time he would just fly over to Russia or something and create a mess _there_.

Jack's bare feet touched the roof of a building which was closest to the forest. He leaned on his staff; ready to call this ridiculous search off and travel back to the pole. Now if this wasn't a great waste of time. At least he got one of north's snow globes; that would bring him back in no time. But then again, Bunny never said he had to return immediately; now had he?

Clearly unhappy with the latest turn of events the spirit decided to pay a little visit to the school nearby; at least have some fun once a day, right? The kids would surely appreciate a day off thanks to the cold. They always did.

Freezing street and sidewalk on his way Jack sent many people stumbling and slipping. That actually did something to lift his mood a tiny bit. But his joy was short lived; once he reached the school building it dissolved into non existence. Not a single child was around, the whole area deserted. Was there some holiday he had forgotten about? No; he never forgot the fun things in life. It had to be something else. His curiosity got the better of him and Jack quickly dismissed the uneasy feeling which had settled in his stomach.

The winter spirit soared down towards the building; time to investigate. The windows were shut, all doors locked. So he needed to search for something outside. And he didn't have to search for long; a note attached to the big front doors explained the lack of children and teachers.

Raising a brow Jack began to read as he floated closer to the door. "- remains closed because of the latest events?" That was new; and also very confusing. What events? What was serious enough to leave the school closed because of it? In a quiet and peaceful town like this one no less? Whatever mission had been given to Jack was quickly forgotten; now he wanted to know what was going on here in Burgess. And what better way to find out than to just ask someone? It was about time he talked to Jamie anyways; since he had been too _busy _last night. Jack shuddered at the thought; he did not want to recall that right now. So he shook off the annoying images his brain cam up with and flew over to the Bennett – household.

The silence of the lair was disturbed by the whining and snorting of dozens of nightmares and shadows; it was rare to have visitors down there. So the new presence put them on edge; making them nervous and agitated. Their master had noticed the uninvited guest as well; but his attention never left the dark globe. There was no need to be alert, not now anyways. The mass of nightmares and darkness parted to make way for the stranger; leading the ominous being towards their king. Wherever the stranger walked the stone floor was still covered in a fine layer of shadows. The dark creatures always ready to take the intruder out if needed; to drag him down into the endless abyss of blackness. But he made no wrong move; no sudden attack. So he was allowed down there; for the moment. In front of the stone stairs leading up towards the platform Pitch stood on, the unwelcome visitor stopped. The body barely held upright; black mist and the stench of decay surrounding the man.

"Greetings, Pitch. What a pleasure to meet the King of Nightmares in person! So those shadows belong to you, hm?" A distorted grin spread on an even more distorted face which had once belonged to a human. By now it started to fall apart, the skin turning sickly grey; dotted with darker spots. A ring of almost black bruises around his neck indicated the way he died. It was not a pleasant sight at all; the silky voice the puppet spoke with not fitting the rotting body. Turning to face his guest Pitch mustered him with disdain, clearly not happy about his presence. And the unbearable stench of rot wasn't the only reason for that.

"They do. You however,_ do not_. So I suggest you leave this place at once." Pitch's face was blank, his voice low but it held a dangerous edge to it. He knew that this thing was no treat; but that didn't change the fact that it didn't belong into his lair. Nor did he want to have it here. The smooth, dark voice spoke again trough the lips of the stolen body.

"Is that a way to welcome an old friend?" The Shadow King mustered the rotting human; raising a brow. "You make it sound like I should _know_ you." It was easy to tell how much Pitch hated to have this conversation. He didn't bother to mask his disgust when the voice started to chuckle low; body swaying as if falling over. He had known the moment this puppet had set foot into his domain that a more powerful, darker being was leading it. But he still couldn't remember where he had heard that voice before. It was rare that his memory failed him, but maybe it was just the unbearable stench that prevented him from thinking clearly.

"I'm disappointed; Nightmare King. Surely you haven't forgotten about _us_?" The rotting corpse spread its arms wide, bones starting to become visible under the stretching, dry skin. The voice picked up in volume, sounding less like one and more like hundreds of them. Pitch's eyes widened for a second as recognition hit him. So this was the source of the dark energy surrounding the globe? This was the evil that treated to swallow up all light? Interesting. But he really had wished for a more _pleasant _dark spirit to rise from the realm below. Actually, any other dark spirit would have been better in Pitch's eyes.

His features were blank once again when he lifted one arm to beacon his shadows closer. They surrounded the intruder completely; not affected by rot and decay. Pitch's voice echoed trough the many stairways. "How could I ever forget _you. _So you managed to break free? Impressive." The marionette merely nodded, a twisted version of a human smile revealing rotting teeth. "Not just that. I found a way to get access to my old powers as well!" Pitch's eyes flickered over the dead body. "Figured that much."

The Shadowmancer lifted one hand, summoning more of his pawns from below. By now all light was swallowed up by the fearlings, the intruder completely surrounded by shades. The only thing that was still visible in the blackness was the shallow glow of Pitch's eyes. "But whatever you want, I'm not interested. So leave." Shadowmen and nightmares reached towards the dead body, pulling him under. "You'll regret this decision, Pitch!" The silky voice called, echoing from the black stone walls. But that didn't stop the dark creatures from their task. They dragged the unwelcome visitor away, leaving their master alone in the caverns.

With a sigh the Nightmare King turned around, facing the slowly spinning globe again. "Why _him?" _The question wasn't directed towards anyone in particular; a shadow mare still answered with a hollow whine. Apparently she hadn't left with the rest to devour whatever remained of the soul in that puppets body. Pitch absently patted the large creature's muzzle, watching the mist drift over the continents and oceans. "Out of anyone, it had to be him. The last being of the netherworld I would have liked to see." He fell silent after that, still stroking the mare now and then.

A soft knock on his window made Jamie look up from the book he was reading. With a smile he got up from his bed and walked over to let the spirit in. "Hey, Jack! Been a while." It was easy to tell that the boy was happy to see the frost sprite around, even if most people called him crazy because he still believed in supernatural things. He didn't really mind what his classmates or parents said, so it was fine for him. Jamie dropped back down on his bed, leaving the window wide open. It was no use to try and block the icy chill of winter out with Jack in his room, anyways. The book about haunted houses he'd been reading was shoved to the side, landing on the floor with a soft _thud_. "Hi, Jamie." The spirit floated into the room, taking a seat on the boy's desk; freezing a bottle of Coke in the process. The Teenager was eager to hear about Jack's newest adventures or anything else the guardian was willing to share, so he started talking again before Jack could even open his mouth. "So, what have you been up to? Anything interesting happened lately?" The spirit offered a small smile; he had always liked the idea that Jamie was so interested in him. Normally he would love to share some stories, but today he actually came here to ask something; not just to kill some time.

"Actually, I just happened to fly by and felt like visiting. You know, entertaining some kids at your old school." As soon as Jack mentioned the elementary school of Burgess, Jamie's smile turned into a frown. "So you've been there already?" The white haired spirit nodded, one hand holding his staff while the other froze random pencils and papers around him. "What's up with it? I mean, they don't just close the school for nothing." The teen on the bed shook his head. "Haven't you heard about it? The news talk about nothing else anymore." Jack looked at Jamie, waiting for the boy to go on. He wasn't much of a _news – person_ and usually wrecking havoc and playing games was more his kind of thing. The Teenager seemed to catch Jack's train of thought as he went on. "Some weird things keep happening lately. It's like people just go… insane." The winter spirit raised a brow, not really getting what Jamie wanted to tell him.

"It happened here in Burgess sometime last week, I think. A teacher on that school just… I don't know; he just went totally crazy out of nothing." The boy shrugged while he spoke. "He was teaching his class like usual, and suddenly he started acting odd. Like, really weird. He told the class things about… the dead and the underworld, or something." Jamie was staring at the ceiling while he tried to remember what exactly he had read in the newspapers. "They found him in the backyard of the school later that day. He had somehow hanged himself." Finished with his unpleasant story the boy looked back at Jack, who seemed to be even paler than usual. What was hard to imagine, considering that his skin looked almost white anyways. "It's really weird, like the people get possessed or something." The teenager got up to grab the remote, turning on his TV. Granted, a formally dressed woman was talking about the mysterious deaths happening all around certain areas of the world. As much as Jack hated monotonous talking reporters, he forced himself to listen.

"_- has been reported that the corpse is now missing. The local police was unable to explain how anybody could get access to the room the autopsy should take place in. All doors were locked and no signs of-" _The hollow voice droned on about the latest incidents while Jack felt a feeling of dread settle in his stomach. This wasn't good, whatever it was. The other guardians had to know; and fast!

It was hard to believe that Pitch had something to do with it, but whom else could he blame? Those weren't natural deaths. It sounded like something or someone was taking over those humans; possessing them. And it surely was no coincidence that those strange events started right about the time the nightmares returned. It was the only explanation Jack had at the moment, so he went with it. Gripping his staff tighter he rose from his spot, waving goodbye to the confused Jamie.

"Sorry, but I have to go! Don't worry; I'll try to fix this. Oh, and look out for Sophie!" Without giving the teenager a chance to reply he was already out the window; a harsh wind following in his wake. He needed to tell North and the others about everything he found out, and he needed to do it fast! Whatever it was that was happening with those people, it had to be stopped. _Pitch _had to be stopped. Jack landed on a roof not too far away, pulling the snow globe out of his hoodie. Ready to return the spirit gave the town one last look; and just in that moment a dark shadow slipped trough an alley only two streets away. The spirits eyes widened at the sight of the single nightmare, heading towards the forest. This was his chance! This creature surely would lead him to the entrance of the lair! This was probably his only chance to find out how to reach Pitch's realm. Biting his lip he fiddled with the snow globe for a moment, weighting his options. He knew it was a bad idea to follow; it had been in the past and it certainly was now. But Jack never listened to reason, so he leapt from the roof, sending snowflakes whirling. With high speed he followed the retreating shadow, closer to the trees. The wind picked up, helping him to catch up to the creature. It was hard to keep track of the nightmare between the trees and bushes, but Jack managed. After a wild chase trough half the forest the shade hauled itself into the maw of a cave. It vanished into the dark between old rock formations and moss. Staff in hand and ready for combat the winter spirit followed suit, hoping his decision wouldn't get him into trouble this once. But knowing his own luck…

The mare next to Pitch whined softly, stomping her hooves on the ground in agitation. She could sense the intruder even before her master would. And she _knew _that one, too. The others had noticed as well, already luring the guardian down the dark tunnels, towards their master. With slight annoyance the dark spirit turned to face whoever the shadows had captured in his lair this time. His eyes landed on Jack, who just stumbled out of a dark hallway. The second he noticed that his enemy had spotted him, the spirit raised his staff; ready to attack.

Pitch just rolled his eyes, clearly not in the mood for this. "Why does _everybody_ feel the need to come down here today?" With a wave of his hand he dismissed most of the shadows, leaving them to go back to their tasks. They wouldn't be needed now. The angry mare by his side stood her ground, though.

"Pitch! So you _are _back!" With folded arms and mild interest he watched Jack; knowing that the boy wouldn't be stupid enough to attack him down here, alone no less. Even if he would, with the power he currently possessed the frost boy was no treat anyway. "My, aren't you a _bright boy_. Figured that out all on your own?" The Nightmare King cooed, making sure to hit the right tone to annoy Jack to no end. His words had the desired effect, frost began do coat the staff, crackling dangerously. "What are you up to this time?!" The guardian's voice dripped venom but the older spirit didn't seem to mind. Instead of paying the boy much attention he examined his fingernails. "But Jack, you make it sound like I'm _evil _or something." Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance, tightening the grip on his staff.

"Don't play stupid, you know why I'm here!" Raising a brow Pitch continued to ignore Jack's anger and the weapon pointed at him. "Do I now?" The Nightmare King really knew how to set people on edge. The guardian ground his teeth together; Tooth would have shrieked at the sound. It was pretty hard to _not_ let himself get provoked by Pitch, but Jack was determined to get some answers out of him first. "What's up with all those people going crazy lately? Is this your newest idea on how to rule the world or something?" The dark spirit just shrugged, one hand trailing over the surface of the giant globe behind him. "You're giving me more credit then I deserve, frost boy."

"Yeah, _sure._ Because you're _so_ _not evil_; I get it." The guardian was really starting to lose his patience; and so was Pitch. With a sigh the older spirit pinched the bridge of his nose. "And here I thought you were a bit _brighter_, Jack." The winter spirit grimaced at the comment but didn't interrupt. The horse next to Pitch kept glowering at him and it made him really uneasy somehow. Those things usually weren't this aggressive, were they?

"Tell my, why should I make people _kill_ themselves?" Pitch pushed the snorting mare away, since her glaring at the boy annoyed him to no end. What did the stupid thing even have against the guardian?

"I couldn't care less for the wellbeing of those mortals, that much is true. But I _do _feed off their fear." Jack lowered his staff a little, listening to the Shadowmancer. "The dead do not feel fear, so what good are they to me, really?" Pitch did have a point there; Jack had to admit that much. It made no sense to kill the people he needed to regain his power. Why would anybody willingly destroy his own power source, after all? Maybe he had been wrong. But what other explanation was there for the strange happenings? Who was the one responsible for this if not Pitch? Jack was determined to find that out right now.

"If this isn't your doing, then who is behind it?" The spirit was sure he wouldn't get a decent answer to his question, but asking couldn't hurt. To his surprise Pitch seemed quite willing to tell more about the source of the dark energy possessing people. He gestured towards the towering dark globe. Jack noticed the black clouds of mist swim around it, raising a brow in question. "What's that?"

"_This_ is what you should be after, if you truly wish to protect those mortals." Not that the explanation made any sense to Jack, but at least it was something. So there _was _some other dark power at work? Something else that was just as evil as Pitch? And here he thought the Nightmare King was the only enemy they had to fight. Well, pretty stupid, now that he considered it. There were so many good or neutral spirits or fae around, why shouldn't there be evil ones as well. But still, this could just as well be some stupid trick, so Jack kept his guard up. "So you _do _know more about this, don't you?" The other spirit just shrugged, turning back to face Jack. "I do not, and I honestly don't care. You just happened to be the second visitor down here today." Yeah, that didn't make sense either. "And what, _exactly,_ has that to do with the mysterious deaths?" Pitch looked at him like he was seriously stupid by now.

"Well, maybe you understand if I show you what my other guest was _nice_ enough to leave here." With a flick of his wrist shadows began to rise from the ground next to Jack. The boy stepped back, ready for an attack that never came. Instead the shadows dropped something next to him before they vanished into the deeper levels of the lair again. It didn't take long for the guardian to make out what they had brought. He quickly covered his mouth with one hand to block the horrible stench of decay out. "What the-?!" His eyes wandered back to Pitch, glaring with all their might. The dark spirit had returned his attention to his precious globe by now. "Don't get the wrong impression here, frost. The dead are _his _realm, not mine." Jack started backing up, eager to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. "So if you wish to find the one responsible for this-" It wasn't like Jack never saw anything dead before, but it clearly was something else if it was nothing more but rotten, mangled flesh and bones; in the shape of a human. And the stench was unbearable, nearly making him sick. He needed some fresh air; now. The guardian looked the mess on the floor over once more before he turned around and fled. Wanting nothing more than to leave the dark lair. "-you would be better off searching for the Lich King, not for me." He heard Pitch's words echo trough the dark maze of tunnels and hallways while he tried to find his way out. If he would have calmed down a little bit he might have remembered the snow globe in his pocked.

A low chuckle left the Nightmare Kings lips as he watched the guardian leave. He sure had evoked a delicious kind of fear in the boy just now. And if the guardians knew about the new _visitor _from below it saved him the trouble of getting rid of the nuisance himself. Maybe he should drop by the pole to watch those foolish guardians go pale with fear when Jack told them what had happened? Would certainly be fun. Even if the boy didn't know what they were dealing with, the others certainly would. Snorting softly the mare from before returned to his side, pleased that the frost boy left. Pitch gave her a strange look; having no idea what was even wrong with her.

~~~tbc.

Whew, lot's of story in this chapter. But I guess I got their new enemy set up nicely. Or at least I hope so. Poor Jack, the universe seems to really hate him. Well, let's see how the other guardians will take his story. And Pitch's presence at the north pole.


	4. Fourth Chapter: Important meetings

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

_Rating: M (T for now) _

_Pairing: BlackIce _

_By: Shadako _

**Fourth Chapter: Important meetings and unimportant concerns. **

Jack wasn't sure what he had expected once he returned to the pole. Everybody freaking out maybe, terror and fear written on their faces. North making epic battle plans, Tooth flying off to check on her faeries; something along those lines. What he had not expected was laughter. As soon as he landed in the large room with the globe where the rest of the guardians were already discussing the latest events, he started to explain. Not that it sounded very logical how he did it, but the main point came across. Some scary dude called Lich King was randomly killing people. After Jack's little rant about this dead guy and Jamie's closed school everybody was staring at him. A few moments of silence, and then bunny had stared to laugh.

Jack couldn't believe it. What the hell was so funny about _dead people_?!

Tooth gave the frost sprite a worried look before flying over to him. "Hush, Bunny!" She scolded the rabbit, who was by now holding his aching sides. "Seriously, Tooth! He must've hit his head pretty hard!" The Faerie Queen ignored the Pooka's remark. At this point Jack was pretty much pissed off. What the hell was wrong with them? They were supposed to worry about this freaky new villain! Not laugh their furry butts off. Stupid rabbit…

The fairy patted his shoulder gently. "Jack, dear; are you feeling alright? Maybe a fever…" He batted her hand away when she reached out to feel his temperature. "What is _wrong_ with you?!" His question was directed towards Bunnymund, who was slowly calming down. "Really, Frostbite! Where the hell do you get those ideas from? The Lich King, yeah, sure! And I'm a dancing daffodil!" Jack glared daggers at the other guardian. "Maybe you should pay attention to something else than _painting eggs_ once in a while. You would have _noticed _that something's going on."

The winter spirit was highly annoyed that no one believed him. Was it so hard to get that he was serious for once? Stupid Pooka. Now North joined the conversation, stroking his beard in thought. "Who told you about the Lich King, Jack?" The old man seemed to at least consider his story to be true. The youngest guardian turned his back towards Bunny, ignoring him completely. "Pitch." Yeah, maybe that wasn't exactly the answer the others wanted to hear. Apparently the fact that he had met the Shadowmancer had somehow slipped when he tried to explain everything just now. Bunny frowned, finally done laughing. Tooth was by his side again in an instant. "Oh, Jack! Are you hurt? What did he do? Do you-" Santa put a large hand on the delicate faeries shoulder, stopping her from buzzing around Jack.

"You have to give him chance to answer, no?" She blushed a little, laughing nervously before she settled down on the ground again. The frost spirit was glad that someone was finally listening to him; even if he knew that he would get into trouble jet again for going down into Pitch's lair. "Yeah, about that… I was searching for the old entrance to his lair and somehow happened to come across one of those new nightmares. I decided to follow and somehow ended up down there again." The disapproving look he earned himself from the bearded man made Jack shrink a little. Yeah, no stupid solo – missions anymore, he knew that. But he just couldn't help his own damn curiosity.

"I know I should just have come back here and all, but-… well." The youngest spirit shrugged at that, not really in the mood to explain his actions. Bunny just rolled his eyes, by now used to the other spirits annoying nature. "Once I met Pitch I asked him directly if he had anything to do with the people who go missing. Or insane, or whatever-" He couldn't really recollect everything Jamie had said, but it was enough to grasp the bigger picture. "- and that's when he told me to search for a _Lich King _or something." Once he was finished with his little speech Jack waited for North to respond. The jolly old man looked more than worried right now. The first to speak up was Bunny however. "That's nonsense! We all know it can't be _him_." The colourful fairy next to him nodded quickly, still looking a bit panicked. Sandy, who hadn't done much until now began to rapidly flash pictures above his head. Not that they made any sense to Jack; but apparently the others knew what he wanted to tell them. North nodded, turning around to face the large globe with all the brightly glowing lights. "Those are indeed troubling news." The Pooka dropped his ears, expression turning grim while he watched Sandy's little picture show. "How come we haven't noticed until now?" Toothiana, who clutched a baby faerie to her chest, answered.

"Because the ones affected most were adults. It takes a while before children figure out that something is wrong. And Sandy says that it only started a few days ago. The _deaths,_ I mean." She shuddered while she spoke, gently patting baby Tooth. By now Jack was fed up with not knowing what the Sandman was telling them. But apparently he had noticed that humans were dying under strange circumstances as well. Proving his point, right? "So, you believe me now?" Tooth bit her lower lip, nodding carefully. "Something is indeed very, very_ wrong_. And it's definitely not Pitch this time." At her last sentence Bunny's ears shot up. "Sure it could be him! Who tells me that-!"

The Pooka was harshly interrupted by a strong beam of silvery light, flashing in from the ceiling. Jack knew by now what the ominous glow meant. The guardians turned around to watch MiM's message unfold on the stone floor. Jack inwardly noting that the moon seemed rather talk – active lately, after 300 years of_ ignoring_ him. _Nice _guy, wasn't he? But right now probably wasn't the best time to complain about that. He would save it for later.

A dark silhouette formed; showing a tall figure Jack didn't recognize. A moment later the shadow – man burst into dozens of tinny things; looking like fireflies. The winter spirit raised a brow. So, this was supposed to tell him _what_, exactly? Apparently the moon decided that simple _words _were too easy. So he was back to his cryptic shadow – language. Rolling his eyes Jack looked up at his fellow guardians who all stared on the ground, still watching. After a few more seconds the light vanished, leaving them in the warm glow of Santa's workshop once again. North said something in his mother tongue; it sounded like a curse to Jack but he wasn't sure. Tooth was buzzing her wings twice as fast as usual, hands pressed over her mouth. Well, they definitely looked shocked, so whatever it was that Manny had told them, it was something bad. Jack assumed that what Pitch had said was true, and this shadow had indeed been the Lich King. Or a lot of tiny insect, whatever would fit better.

"So, that was the guy?" The tooth fairy nodded silently. The tall Russian behind them was already shouting orders at the yetis, sending some out to gather information and others to guard the workshop. Bunny hurriedly followed the old man, complaining about this or that. While the two guardians stormed off towards wherever, Tooth cried out; almost giving Jack a heart attack. "We have to check on the others!" She was talking to baby tooth, who hurriedly nodded her tiny head. Both flew from the large meeting room in record speed. That left Jack alone with Sandy, who was obviously the only one who even _tried _to explain anything to the winter spirit. With lots of funny golden sand signs. Yeah, very helpful. Jack raised both hands. "It's not like I understand _anything_, Sandy."

The small golden spirit stopped with the signs, a frown on his face. Then his features suddenly lit up and he zoomed out of the room on a golden cloud. That left the confused frost spirit standing there like some idiot; being the only one who had no idea what was really going on. Dumb giggling somewhere behind him showed that he wasn't _completely _alone, but it wasn't like the elves were any good company. Currently they were trying to throw one of their fellows onto the giant globe.

"Yeah, sure. Just _ignore _the guy who gathered the information in the first place." The winter spirit crossed his arms in annoyance. Jack wasn't talking to anybody in particular but something tugged on his hoodie in response. Looking down he saw Sandy, back from his little journey to _god – knows – where._ He waved an old - looking leather bound book in front of the youngest guardians face. Books, one thing the spirit of fun never had patience for. He grabbed the stupid thing anyways, since Sandy obviously wanted to show him something. Once Jack took the book from him, the sandman waved his goodbye and was off to listen to Santa's and Bunny's plans or something. The only remaining guardian mustered the old book in his hands with distaste. Was he supposed to _read _the whole thing? No way, too many pages for that! But what other choice did he have, really?

With an annoyed sigh Jack dropped the book on a nearby table after he shoved some toys to the side. Letting himself sink into a comfortable plush chair he flipped trough some of the yellowish pages. How old exactly was that thing? Most of the pages were just plastered with tons of boring text, the few pictures he found showed different kinds of spirits and demons. Basically everything one could find in the nether world. Nothing Jack had bothered with before; sure, he knew that there were other realms, not just the world of the mortals. But then again, why should he have cared? The only part of the netherworld he's ever been to was Pitch's lair. And he was thankful for that, according to the book almost everything down there was far less pleasant than some dark cavern filled with obsidian stone and old metal cages. The book explained a lot about the different realms, their inhabitants and such. Nothing Jack was particular interested in, so he just skipped most parts. Until he came across the realm of the dead, that is. There was the same tall figure stretching over the page that MiM had shown them before. The frost spirit began to read a few passages.

So the weird Necromancer who was ruling over the realm of the dead was called the Lich King? Well, that explained the disgusting lump of rot in Pitch's lair. Jack shuddered when he recalled the twisted body, flipping to the next page. There was a picture showing said dark spirit dissolving into a dozen glowing dots; much like the image Manny showed them. But according to the book those weren't fireflies but souls he had gathered. Jack grimaced at the thought. "Creepy." The rest of the text was just some history stuff about the Necromancer; how he tried to take over the other realms before. Creating an army out of the damned; that he was highly unpleasant in general and therefore had been imprisoned and stripped from his powers. In the book it sounded quite final, so how could that freaky guy come to the mortal world at all? And what did he even want here? It wasn't like this realm really possessed any powerful sources of magic or energy. Aside from the limited amount of spirits and fae that lived here, there wasn't that much to gain from taking it over. Well, unless he wasn't after this kind of power. Maybe he just needed some more… _recruits_, for his next try to take over other realms of the world below.

Jack shuddered at the idea; all humans turned into walking corpses, their souls absorbed by that creepy spirit. Nothing the guardians could allow to happen. The humans were their only reason for existence, after all. They had to defend the mortal world against that monster! But that meant, unfortunately, fighting a bunch of dead bodies. And a weird dark spirit turning into black mist and stray _souls. _ Yeah, so _not _his kind of thing. With a sigh he closed the dusty book, leaning back and stretching his sore muscles. "Couldn't it be someone _else _trying to take over the world? Why some creepy _summoning – dead – people _guy? Seriously." 

"Life isn't fair, I guess." The white haired spirit jumped, almost falling out of the plush chair. Grabbing for his staff Jack struggled to get up as fast as possible, weapon ready to strike. He turned towards the source of the voice, only to face-… nothing. With a grim expression he put the staff back down, searching the large room. "Come on, Pitch. Not funny!" His eyes scanned the shadows, waiting for the Nightmare King to show himself. Of course he was still facing the wrong direction when the voice spoke again.

"Well, I find it quite entertaining to watch you." Jack turned around, meeting the glowing gold eyes of their long – time enemy. The way he spoke made the younger spirit shiver. Pitch sat on the work bench behind Jack, holding the book the winter sprite had been reading and examined the old cover. "You do realize how _creep_y that sounds?" Pitch either didn't mind the witty remark or simply decided to ignore it. Jack leaned on his staff with an annoyed sigh; whatever Pitch had come for, it wasn't to fight. So there was really no need to be on guard around him right now. They were in North's workshop after all; surely the Shadowmancer would like to avoid an attack by all five guardians.

"Well, why are you here, anyways?" The dark spirit placed the old book back on the work bench, focusing his attention on Jack. "To see how they would take the _good news,_ of course." A malicious smile spread on his features as Pitch gestured towards the door Bunny and Santa had just left trough. Their loud talking and Bunny's shouting now and then could still be heard. Jack just rolled his eyes; so he just came to witness the other guardians freaking out? Well, if that wasn't a _nice_ reason to _visit._ "That's the only reason you even told me in the first place, isn't it?" The Nightmare King ignored the biting edge in the other spirits words; he just shrugged it off. "Mostly, yes."

It was unbelievable to Jack how someone could be _this _annoying all the time. Every word Pitch said was either to provoke him or make him angry. It really, honestly, was beyond Jack how he could even _consider _him to be anything else than their enemy. And it was even _more _unbelievable that Manny had _suggested_ something like that. Jack kept a safe distance between them while glaring at the dark spirit. "Lovely, thanks." The words dripped with sarcasm. "But if you're here already you can just as well tell me what's up with that insane summoner – guy." Not that he actually expected an answer, but trying wouldn't hurt. Pitch seemed to think about it for a moment, than his fingers brushed the cover of the book next to him.

"Basically just that; he's insane. And has a weird hobby of collecting dead things…" For the briefest of moments Pitch's features showed disgust; but it changed to blankness again pretty fast. Jack shook his head in disbelieve. "If it was just that he wouldn't make the others flip out like that!" Some crazy old spirit who did nothing but collect dead stuff and souls wouldn't be that dangerous, now would he?

"Well, he does plan to take over the realm of the mortals, maybe…" The dark spirit showed absolutely no signs of sympathies for the humans. "- and would like to turn them all into mindless walking corpses, I guess. But then again, as I said, he's insane." Jack couldn't believe how Pitch could be so calm while saying things like that. The grip on his staff tightened; his knuckles turning white. "So, you don't care that he is about to wipe out the humans? Who are, mind you, your power source as well?" The expression of the Nightmare King shifted at Jack's words to clear distaste.

"That would indeed be a problem; but I never said I thought he would actually_ succeed_ with his ridiculous plan." The white haired spirit raised his staff, taking a few steps towards the work bench Pitch was seated on. "So you expect us to take care of it and go on with just _ignoring_ that crazy guy?" The smile returned to the dark spirit's lips. "Looks like you figured out my _epic plan_, frost boy." The dirty look Jack directed at him made the older spirit chuckle. He dissipated into shadows, only to re-appear standing behind Jack a second later. "Why, Jack. You look rather angry?" The frost spirit did his best to pay the teasing words no heed. He turned around to face Pitch once more; who was uncomfortably close by now. But stepping back would only mean showing weakness, so the boy stood his ground.

"For somebody who hates our guts you're putting a lot of trust in the guardians. What if we can't stop him? What if he actually goes though with his stupid plan?" Jack had to look up to meet Pitch's eyes; he really hated how short he was compared to the other spirit. He should have died some years later; when he was at least a head taller.

The other immortal seemed to consider his words for a moment; the long shadows from his cloak silently slithering over the floor. They had multiplied since their last fight; all in all the Nightmare King looked a lot more intimidating by now. The room appeared to become twice as dark as it was before with Pitch there. Jack couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down his spine as he took in the others appearance. Yeah, he was so _not _supposed to stare at him like that right now. The silky voice of the dark being called Jack back from his thoughts.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you might be right." While he spoke Pitch broke their eye contact and began to circle around the winter spirit. "It's not like a few _plastic toys_ and_ faeries_ could take down an army of the dead. Don't you agree?" Ghostly fingers traced over his shoulder from behind; almost not touching him at all. Jack tried not to move, not to act like he was the scared lamb and Pitch the big, bad wolf. But it was _really _hard to ignore the close proximity of the Shadowmancer and concentrate on his voice instead.

"Well, maybe I should take matters into my own hands, after all." The voice lowered, sounding much darker when Pitch evaporated into Shadows once again. Jack kept telling himself that the dark spirit only wanted to scare him, to evoke some kind of fear in him. That there was really no imminent danger at the moment. But no matter how much he tried, it didn't work. At all. And mixed with the spike of fear and thrill of adrenaline rushing trough his veins, was that strange tight feeling in his stomach. He really, really hoped the other immortal would just leave. On the other side; he desperately wanted him to stay. Which was the most ridiculous thing he could hope for.

"Sadly, I won't be able to take the Lich King down, either." Jack almost jumped when the other reappeared in front of him; how he hated this _teleporting trough shadows_ thing. This time he couldn't help but step back a little, raising his staff. But at least the little shock had brought his mind back to focus on the topic at hand. "Why not? You're definitely stronger than before somehow." The frost sprites answer was a devious smile. "That might be true, but he is… let's just say, a different calibre. There was a reason the court of the netherworld had him banished, you know? I couldn't beat his army with nothing but shadows and fearlings."

Jack didn't know: Actually, he didn't know _anything _about the dark realms and their system of law. He was surprised they even had one. But apparently this guy was much worse than Pitch, otherwise the Shadowmancer would rot in banishment somewhere underground as well. And he had to be strong; why else would the Nightmare King admit that he couldn't beat him? This situation was getting worse by the minute. What could the guardians do with a bunch of yetis and Easter eggs against magically summoned walking dead? They were pretty much screwed, weren't they?

"So, what, exactly do you plan to do now? Wait till he killed everyone and we all cease to exist because our power sources are wiped out?" The boy crossed his arms, staring up at the older spirit. Pitch seemed to consider his options when a door burst open with a loud crash. Bunnymund walked in, pretty furious. Jack's eyes widened for a second and he turned around to face the door. Biting his lower lip he mentally prepared for the rabbit to freak out and throw boomerangs at the Shadowmancer. No such thing happened however.

"Frostbite, there you are! North decided to call this meeting off for now. _I honestly can't believe him_! We need to do something; and fast! But whatever; let the old man figure out _amazing _battle plans first. Tsk!" Pretty confused Jack turned around again, only to find Pitch gone. Apparently he was smart enough to disappear before the Pooka could see him. Focusing his attention back on the raging Bunnymund Jack stepped out of the rabbit's way. Trying to avoid him getting even more pissed off. He asked a question he hoped wouldn't make the other guardian scream again. "So, what do we now?" The large ears twitched in irritation; features turning grim. "_**Nothing!**_ We just stay here and keep our guard up. The old man will inform us once he gathered more information." The younger spirit simply nodded, watching the furry guardian stomp away. Man, that sure was one angry rabbit.

For the second time that night in the workshop Jack was left alone standing in the enormous room like some idiot.

~~~tbc.

And here we go with the 4th chapter.

Looks like there isn't that much they can do but team up.

If they don't kill each other before they manage to do so, that is.

It's not rid of spelling mistakes jet, but I wanted to upload it anyways.

I might change the file later this week to get all the errors out.

Shad~


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